HANOI, April 15 (Engineering Daily) -- The Government chief made the request on Friday at a meeting attended by HCMC leaders and representatives of the Ministries: Transport, Planning and Investment, Construction, Justice, and Government Office.
The progress of the two metro lines is slow due to adjustment of the total investment capital.
PM Phuc emphasized that faster progress will help ensure the efficiency of the project’s investment capital and reduce traffic congestions in HCMC-the leading economic machine of Viet Nam.
He urged the city authorities to soon submit full documents of the project to competent agencies for verification.
The PM also asked the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Construction, Justice and the Government Office to strengthen coordination to speed up the project’s progress.
The city’s metro project was the first proposed in 2001 as part of a comprehensive public transport plan for HCMC and neighboring provinces to mitigate traffic congestions.
It includes three monorail lines with a total length of 37km and six partly underground metro routes running a total of 107km from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien, Ben Thanh to Tham Luong, Ben Thanh to Binh Tan, Lang Cha Ca to Van Thanh, Thu Thiem to Can Giuoc, and Ba Queo – Phu Lam. Ben Thanh will be a hub connecting all the lines.
According to the initial estimates in 2007, total investment of the project was VND 17 trillion (around US$749 million).
However, a recent calculation of Japanese consultant joint venture, verified by a Singaporean independent consultant unit, showed that total cost must be VND 47 trillion (US$2.07 billion). So far, 51 percent of the project’s workload has been completed and the project is scheduled to be finished in 2020.
